Another split for SDSU tennis

The South Dakota State men's team outlasted St. Joseph's (Pa.) 4-3, but the women's team was grounded 6-1.

On the men's side, SDSU played multiple three-set matches
and extra games, but won the majority and outlasted St. Joseph's (Pa.) 4-3.

In doubles, the Jacks secured the team point in comeback
fashion with wins at No. 1 and No. 2.

Andrea Boglićand Parker Lawley played back-and-forth with
Jeff Kessler and Dan Barrus, but earned a one-break advantage and made it hold
up in an 8-5 win. James Thorp and Mateus Moreia needed an extra game to secure
the 9-7 win versus Max Montague and Jose Sierra.

The wins followed the Hawks' win at No. 3 and shifted the
momentum.

In singles, the two teams split matches, but it was enough
for the SDSU win.

Boglić started the Jacks' scoring with a straight-set win at
the top spot. He played Tommy Gates, who did not compete in doubles, and
defeated him 6-4, 6-2.

St. Joseph's evened the meet score with straight-set wins at
No. 3 and No. 6, but SDSU won two out of the three matches remaining for the
win.

Henrique Pereira split the first two sets at No. 4 with Montague
6-2, 4-6. In the third set, H. Pereira did not leave any doubt with a 6-1 win.
James Thorp played Kessler at No. 5 and dropped the first set 3-6. But in the
second and third sets, Thorp took a page from H. Pereira's playbook and stifled
his opponent 6-1, 6-1.

The two wins secured the meet for SDSU.

"Today was a big day for the men's team," head coach Michael
Engdahl said. "We were down 3-6 at No. 2 doubles and we were able to battle
back, win the match and score the team point. In singles, we avoided a letdown
after doubles and played a complete meet. It was the type of match where we
hopefully gained belief in our ability as a team."

The men improved to 4-8 with the win. SDSU closes out the spring trip tomorrow morning versus Montana State-Billings at 8 a.m.

"The girls played tough, but we were a bit tired mentally,"
said Engdahl. "It was another long day in the sun and our mental edge was
lacking. However, St. Joseph's is a solid program and grinded out the win. We
needed to be at our best at every position and it was just not our day. The
focus and energy were there, but we need a good rest tonight and to be
refreshed for Florida A&M tomorrow morning."

The women drop to 7-7 with the loss. SDSU closes out the spring trip tomorrow morning versus Florida A&M at 11:30 a.m.